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A chance break in the weather and as soon as darkness fell, it was clear and darker than usual. Finishing with light cloud at 11.30 , I got into the Leo galaxies, Canes Venatici , Coma Berenices and into the bowl of Virgo. The galaxies looked quite amazing with 8" aperture , presenting different sizes and core brightness . Even M97 ( owl nebula) showed up.
I dropped down to Hydra and the bright glowing NGC 3242 ,"ghost of Jupiter", before exploring the globular clusters M3, M53 and the faint NGC 5053. There was little time for binaries, but for brilliant colour ,"La Superba" was hard to beat .
This is a wonderful time of year to drop from Denebola to Vindemiatrix, enjoy the mass of spring galaxies even from the edge of town, under clear skies !
Nick.

Trying a few (!) binary stars , not only separation , but colour and magnitude are nice to get . Comparing the prism with a mirror diagonal , I found no observable difference. This was particularly gratifying with fainter magnitude binary companions, some with averted vision.
The addition of a proper view makes lunar ( not a real fan) observing easier and gives that fine focusing with users of smooth old school focusers,
Under clear skies ! Nick.

I think the word missing is "excitement" !
It's hard to relax with so many beautiful targets . A comfy seat , warm clothes and a hot drink and as soon as you get drawn into a view everything else drifts away.
I think some folk get disappointed especially from light polluted skies. It's better to select targets that you can observe , rather than chasing big aperture , dark site fuzzy things.
Open clusters , globular clusters , bright planetary nebulae and endless binary stars should fill your sessions . That's in addition to planets and the Moon. Any reasonable aperture will get results that outmatch your light pollution, enjoy under ,
Clear skies !

Cold and very cold, but clear with the bright Moon up. Good time of year to get under Leo to long Hydra. Having enjoyed the spectacular "ghost of Jupiter" , decided to have a look of some favourite binaries here. Some lovely colours and treasures to find.
Σ1270 at x100, gave a lovely pair. (SAO 136242)
epslion Hydrae, really lovely yellow and deep blue (SAO 117112)
Σ1290 ,a good 2.8" split at x200 (SAO 117208)
Σ1347 , nicely wide at 21"
Here's the double double low power field, with splits to 1.9", SAO 117661 and 117704
Some spectacular colours to tau 1 Hydrae, yellow with a " small plum" , yes ,got that .
Just on the borders of Leo, I spotted Subra ( omicron Leonis ) SAO 98709, wide , but stunning colouration. Plenty targets in this area,under Clear skies !
Nick.

Neat ! Dodging the ecliptic here. 30 ft oak in the school a few doors down and Madame's two rownans . Not allowed to touch them as they are " magical trees " and have the power to be "cursed upon ". Certainly do some of that !
Nick.

It's our family tradition to throw away instructions.
Join the club, first time I used an eq mount , never heard of meridian flip . Ending up on my back trying to reach the ep. Just couldn't figure it out ! I blame the often provided useless instructions . That's my excuse !
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